Sunday, May 11, 2008

Of course, lots of people have said that. The "wikipedia model" is easier observed than applied -- you've got to have that animating spark*, or everything collapses.

Wikipedia's spark is the idea of building a central repository for all knowledge, a repository that's free free free, and that's as neutral a reflection of reality as possible. These are ideals that people will sacrifice for. They'll research at the library; they'll clean up vandalism (or feel bad enough to not vandalize); they'll code late into the night.

In other words, Wikipedia works because it's inherently utopian. Religion is inherently utopian, too. If ever there was another place the wikipedia model could be applied, this is it.